Expat Families: Story Telling Can Be Key to Success in Raising Happy Children Who Grow Up Abroad, Parenting Expert Julia Simens Writes

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raising children in the United States can be challenging in many ways, but can you imagine raising an American child in a foreign country?

"An increasing number of American children are being raised in foreign countries as their parents are being sent abroad by their businesses or government agencies or they are people who want to see the world," said Julia Simens, parenting expert and author of Emotional Resilience for the Expat Child.

"The only thing you can be sure you can move around the world is your child's ability to increase his or her interpersonal skills. In today's global world, each of us is searching for effective tools that can help our children to thrive," said Simens, who draws on 25 years of living overseas to help children and families adjust to their global lifestyle.

"Emotional Resilience for the Expat Child" provides a step-by-step guide that is designed to help a child become resilient - bounce back from setbacks - and to increase a child's emotional vocabulary and emotional intelligence.

"Doing this will enable your child to achieve his or her fullest potential. The bond between an adult and child is key to the psychological health of the child. For the expatriate child, this bond is more vital than ever," said Simens, with a master's degree in clinical psychology, who has been hired by schools, PTAs and organizations to talk about transitions, what we can do to help our children in this global lifestyle and how to work within a school system to get the best for everyone.

"This workbook has been created for parents and children to use together and will provide the perfect place to connect. With easily understood and practical steps any parent can apply, families can start to create and enjoy 'emotion stories.' This book will help develop the mutually respectful and loving relationships between parents and kids that they've always wanted," she said.

"Working on these emotional stories, all children can develop a strong sense of personal narrative; they will find their own voice and in so doing will grow into confident, happy teenagers. When a child feels happy and confident, he will be more likely to construct and communicate his emotions. The richer his vocabulary is in emotions, the more competent and powerful he will be in reflecting on his behavior and how his actions and interactions are intertwined," she said.

Well-written in an engaging, conversational tone, this book is sensible, straightforward and based on the experiences of expat families. It will give your child what he or she needs to understand and express today in order to grow into a caring, emotional intelligent adult tomorrow.

"Few parenting books that I have ever encountered have ever broken the skill of understanding feelings into such easily digestible and imminently practical steps that any parent can apply. No book has ever done so with the special issues of an expatriate or mobile population in mind. Julia's book does both, and does so beautifully," childhood psychologist Dr. Douglas W. Ota, wrote in the book's foreword.

"Finally, the book I've been longing to reach for as a reference tool in my own practice and as a parent. It shows how the adults in their lives can help children to express their feelings in constructive ways so that they become emotionally healthy, happy, and resilient," said Rebecca Grappo, M.Ed, Certified Educational Planner, Founder, RNG International Educational Consultants, LLC.

As an educator, speaker, author and consultant, Julia has a gold-medal global perspective on children and parenting. Parents look to her for guidance because she has raised her own two children overseas while worrying about schools, medical conditions, friendships and loss of extended family contact. She and her family have navigated eight international relocations, which has provided her the opportunity to work with over 8,000 families on five continents. It's helped her understand the similarities of emotions children share around the globe. She has personally gazed into the eyes of young children from around the world and helped them successfully transition into their new environment. She is the expert on emotional resilience and the expat child.